Microsoft has announced the latest in the sci-fi shooter has made $220m worldwide in its first 24 hours of availability.

The figure makes the title the biggest entertainment launch of the year thus far – outperforming both 2012’s previous leader The Avengers film, and the all-time record holder Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 film.

"Consumer demand and excitement for Halo 4 is even greater than we anticipated," GameStop president Tony Bartel said as part of the announcement.

Lifetime sales have hit $3.38bn for the franchise, and Microsoft claims Halo 4 is on pace for $300m by the end of its first week.

All that in mind, history suggests Microsoft’s victory could be short lived with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launching later today.

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